Gift of Choice
by shaniic
Summary: Jaune Arc has been chosen by the gods of remnant as the inheritor of the gift of choice. He has been given the ability to summon demons what will Jaune's role be in remnant? Why was he given this ability? And what are these nostalgic emotions he's been feeling? An SMT X RWBY fanfic (Cover pic doesn't belong to me but to the creators of shin megami tensei a.k.a. Atlus)
1. Chapter 1

"Awaken, son of man."

He heard a voice. He opened his eyes. There was nothing. He knew where he was, the place is called the Expanse where he floated in the vast space of what is, what was, and what will be the end. A part of the expanse where humans would refer the entities that lived there as gods. This was also the final rest for humans after making an important choice.

"Do you remember, son of man?" The voice asked.

 _I do._ He thought.

"Then you remember your choices?" Another voice said

The two voices took form in front of him and he sees one figure in the humanoid form of light with a dark crest in the center of his chest and the other at the same form but with a contrasting color from the previous one. The twin gods of remnant. The gods of his world.

Vitam, the creator of life

And Mortem, harbinger of destruction

 _My choices_

The twins nodded

"Look behind you." The two said.

He looked behind and saw two blurry figures that has reached the end such as he whom existed now.

The first one took form. Donning a full plate armor, white and pure as the snow his eyes glowed with blue under his helm.

"Jaune." The figure speaks in his familiar voice. "Don't forget, this is the true path. The world need not any chaos."

Then the second figure revealed himself. A Grimm mask hides half of his face, he wore dark clothing accentuated with orange and yellow, his hood further hid any sense of identification to who this person is. Beneath his mask two dots glowed a crimson dread that spread fear into his entire being.

"Jaune." The dark figure speaks. "Remember, we can change the world if everyone is free. Let the strong reign."

And the third figure was that of a woman. He looked away before she could say anything else. But she didn't. The two figures vanished and was replaced by the twin gods.

"Do you know who they are?" Vitam asked.

Of course, he does. He knows the two of them. Every day of his lives he's always looked in the mirror to see those two.

"Yes, Jaune Arc. The two were the choices you made."

"The two are lives you once lead as our candidate for the gift of choice."

 _I know_

The twins converged and turned into one being. "So, I ask you, Jaune Arc. Are you satisfied with your choices?"

His first choice was to bring peace throughout Remnant. And he knew it can't be done with the White Fang insurgencies bringing chaos and making Grimm powerful with all the negativity. So, with his friends he sets off to annihilate the Fang. With the council leading Remnant everyone, be it humans or Faunus prospered and lived a life of peace. Only in the end did they realize that the council had used them and his friends to be a weapon against those who would go against the law they set out. Humanity survived in the long run, but the cost was their freedom. And the world ended as was the choice of the gods who deemed humanity deviating from their plans.

He wasn't satisfied.

His second choice was siding with the White Fang and bring true freedom through Remnant. Relinquishing the council and having Remnant go through a life where the strong protects everyone against the Grimm. Everyone had a chance to be strong but those who were weak were made to do nothing but serve the ones in power. The strong oppressed the weak and the weak were not able to do anything against them. And in the end of it all it was humanity that destroyed themselves in their struggle for power.

He wasn't satisfied

He grits his teeth. "No, I'm not."

The sole figure smiled. "Then you shall be given one more chance, Jaune Arc. Let this be the last. Think well on your actions."

Then the world shifted, and he sees eight unknown yet familiar figures that spoke together with varying voices.

"Choose well, Jaune."

And he wakes up without the knowledge he had from the expanse and only hazy pieces of his past.

/-/

Jaune woke up from his vague dream through the beep of his scroll indicating a notification of a message. He swiped it open and he opens the message.

"Congratulations upon being chosen as a candidate for god's gift to man as such you have been given Demon summoning app 'Nicaea ver. 2.5.' The application has already been installed and the mark has been bestowed on the back of your right hand. Please open the app to start your introduction and be given the demon pair you have been bestowed upon."

Jaune blinked and looked at the back of his right hand to see a weird pentagram on it. He felt nostalgic about it, hopefully his parents won't see it as a sign of rebellion. Gods know what happened when Joan had a tattoo on her back. He's never feared his parents more than ever during that day.

He returned his attention to his scroll and looked for the newly installed app and touched it.

[Welcome to Nicaea Ver. 2.5

'A dead face delivery site']

The app transitioned and revealed a touch button

[Click here to register]

Jaune tapped it and was told to enter his name to which he did 'Jaune Arc'

Then the app asked for the navigator's gender.

A calm and collected male

An energetic female

Immediately Jaune chose female caused by his male hormones to choose for him.

Then a girl with light purple hair and a hairband that looks like a rabbit's started jumping up and down in the form of a sprite and appeared in a more clear version near the screen "Hey-a master! Welcome to Nicaea! Your one stop shop for demons and death! Oooh~ scary" She said with a positive smile. "I'm Tico-Tico your adorable guide! But you can call me Tico"

Her presence on the screen may be insufferable but it's a refreshing positivity if you think about it.

"Here in this app you can summon demons and get them in auctions by paying in macca! How do you get macca you ask? Simple! You beat down those Grimm beasties! Every time you kill one you earn macca based on what you kill! Awesome right!?" She said. "Oh, and you also get videos of the people you're tied to by fate, and not just some random shmoes you meet but people you've met and will meet and get to like, know really, really well. We'll show you ahead of time how they die and stuff, total drag if you ask me. You get to see how they hit the bucket from the vids we send you! How that works is a mystery to me though. I'll tell you if there's a new video sent so you better check it out!" She said gleefully

"Oh right! Before I forget, since your scroll us too underpowered we've restricted some functions that the app can do. Get a better gear boss!" She pouted

"You can do the things I've already said but you can't access the demon compendium, but you can access the cathedral of shadows for demon fusions!" Tico said with a proud grin.

"If you need me just holler! With that said have a nice wheeeee~!" And she disappeared.

Then a notification appeared above the screen. 'You can now summon Jack Frost and Pyro Jack.'

Jaune gulped and his heart beat fast. The names sound so awfully familiar and important. His hands shook as he went to the demon summoning option and tapped on Jack Frost and Pyro Jack's profile. And with a blinding light like data of 1's and 0's the form of the snow fairy and the will o' wisp spirit came forth.

"Hee-how've you been master?" The snow fairy with a cute blue hat said.

"Ho! Master I missed you!" The flame spirit with a pumpkin head stated.

Jaune suddenly started shedding tears and laughing at them. He didn't know why but he felt so nostalgic upon seeing them

Then there was a knock on the door. "Oh, shit. Hide!" Jaune whispered and his demons nodded and vanished. The door opened and revealed his fourth born older sister, Guinevere Arc, with her long ponytail swishing behind her.

"Hey, I didn't say you can open it already." Jaune said.

"You also didn't say I couldn't" She said with a smirk.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Mom wants you downstairs. She needs help with lunch."

He sighed out of all the Arc children the only ones who know how to cook without burning the house is the eldest daughter and him, the only son. And at the moment it was the few times the whole family would be together for the summer and their eldest sister will come home late therefore he's the only one his mother can rely on.

"Tell her I'll just get changed out of my pyjamas." He said

His sister nodded. "Alright" and left downstairs.

/-/

Lunch has ended, and everyone went on to do things on their own. Jaune already finished his chores so he can spend the afternoon as he sees fit. His elder sisters decided to go shopping in Vale and meet with the eldest while the younger ones are playing outside in the nearby park. His mom is watching t.v. in the living room.

"I'm going out for a bit." Jaune told his dad who was reading the newspaper while sitting on his favorite chair. The arc patriarch gave an acknowledging nod at him.

Jaune set out for the forest near their town and there he looked around to confirm he was alone and he summoned Jack frost and Pyro Jack with his scroll.

"Hee-ho! Howdy Jaune!" Jack frost greeted then did a backflip.

"Ho! Hey Jaune!" Pyro jack greeted whilst floating mischievously in the air.

"Hey there you two." He chuckled from their greeting. He looked at his scroll and called out Tico.

"Hey what's up, Mr. J?" She said.

"Is Mr. J supposed to be my nickname?"

"Sure is! Like, ain't it cool and catchy?"

"So, these two are my demons?"

"uh-huh! And you can like, even talk to them! I took a sneak peek at your profile and it looks like your mark gave you 'demonlingual' which allows you to understand demons who use different languages and an additional ability as well." She put a finger to her chin. "I think it's called possession"

"Eh? A profile? What's that?" Jaune asked.

"Here, at the upper right of the screen can you see your picture?" She said. Jaune nodded. "Tap it and you'll see your status profile!" Jaune tapped his picture.

[Name:

Jaune Arc

Skills equipped:

Mark blessings:

Demonlingual

Possession

Demons:

Jack Frost

Pyro Jack]

"What does this 'skills equipped' mean?"

"Oh! Once you're close enough with the demons you buy in auctions or fuse they'd be willing to teach you the skills they know. And through the Nicaea app you can equip it and use it! Be very careful though because the skills you use will take a toll on your body and mind! Bummer if you can't take it then you'd die! And that's just sad." She said with a pout. "But cheer up! The demons you have seem willing to teach you the skills they know!"

"Wait, you do!?" He asked the pair of jack brothers.

"hee-ho yeah! I can teach you sonic punch and bufu! An ice magic skill!" Jack frost said.

"And I can teach you agi a basic fire magic. Ho! I could teach agilao but you can't really handle it yet." Pyro jack floated excitedly with a smug face.

"I can also teach mabufu but like Pyro said, yer too weak boss! Hee!"

"Why? I thought you have to be close to me?"

The two laughed. "Boss, we've been close since the very beginning of your first choice." Frost said.

"You may not remember, but we do. We'll always be following you no matter where you choose to go!"

Jaune tilted his head in confusion. Their words felt familiar but at the same time, as much as Jaune tries to dig any memories in his head he comes up with a blank. As if it exists but can't be found. He shook his head and stopped himself from getting confused any longer.

"Wait, what about this possession."

"Oh, now that's a new and nifty skill. Its basically letting a demon possess your body and use the skills they can't teach you. But unless you have this weird thingie called an 'Aura' its either you die or stay in a comatose state."

"eh, what?"

"Oh, don't be a stick-in-the-mud! It's not like you'd need it soon.

"Well, okay then" He paused "But, I wanna' learn skills!" Jaune said. His 13-year-old mind excited for what to come. His father was against training him for who knows why. He was never against letting his sisters choose the path of the huntress and, yet his father was always against it.

"Goodluck Mr. J!" Tico said before disappearing again.

First came Jack Frost. He approached Jaune and put his mouth near his ear. Frost then mumbled words of power that allowed Jaune to understand the concept of the magic, 'bufu' and the physical skill 'sonic punch' it was a rather weird experience as if there was an weird flow of water entering his nose and instead of being able to shoot it out it just stayed in his head until he doesn't feel it again. Same with Pyro Jack as he taught him agi.

"Well, that about does it hee-ho!" Jack frost said

Jaune felt it. From the tips of his fingers he stared at a tree trunk and pointed his right palm at it. [Agi]! He shouted. And a small flame appeared on the trunk before it exploded causing the part to burn to a crisp.

"This. Is. AWESOME!" he shouted! But then he remembered that using magic would mentally drain him.

 _Wait, remembered?! Remembered from what!? From when?!_ He thought of it more but was cut off from it by a beeping sound from his phone.

"There's a new video!" Tico said, "Do you want to see?" She asked.

Jaune nodded. The video buffered and loaded, and he sees three familiar young blondes and a few corpses around them the three were being cornered by a pack of Beowolves. Jaune's chest beat loud and his eyes widened. The three blondes were his younger siblings. Esther, and the twins Julienne and Juniper. With Esther was hugging the twins trying to calm them down as a beowolf lunged at them and mutilated them. Then the video ended with the camera zooming in at the mangled corpse of his siblings.

Jaune vomited and the Jack brothers started tapping his back.

"I have to find them." He wheezed. "I HAVE TO FIND THEM!"

He fiddled with his contacts and called his dad. But to his dismay he was greeted by an answering machine. He clicked his tongue. If he remembered right they were supposed to be in the park.

"Guys, will you help me save my sisters?" He asked.

"you don't need to ask Jaune! We-ho will fight with you anytime!" Jack frost said.

"What he said. Ho!" Pyro Jack exclaimed.

"Then lets go." Jaune nodded and ran towards the park, away from the forest. Pyro Jack floating beside him with jack frost riding his back. Jaune thought it was cute but he didn't have time to think about that now. He must save his sisters.

/-/

Jaune arrived easily at the park, following the direction of where people were running from. It wasn't easy because the town was overrun by Grimm. Which doesn't explain why his parents weren't coming to the rescue of his siblings.

He finally found them but there were no corpses around them, instead the kids were standing behind Esther who was proudly standing up to the Grimm. Jaune grit his teeth in anger. _Get away from my sister!_ He pointed his right palm at the Beowolf nearest and shouted "[Agi]!" a small flame erupted on the monster's body until it exploded. The damage wasn't enough to kill it, but his shout was enough to gather the attention of the Grimm. The pack consisted of 10 beowolves.

"Jaune!" Esther shouted.

"Big brother!" The twins called in unison.

Jaune wasn't sure if it was his mind on adrenaline or perhaps instinct but he called out to his demons and gave started giving orders.

"Frost! Use [mabufu] on the surrounding Grimm and Pyro use [agilao] on any Beowolf that comes close to my sisters!"

"Hee-HOH! [Mabufu]!" Frost shouted and the six Beowolves were hit by spires of ice that came from the ground. Three were stabbed and killed while the remaining three jumped to avoid it. Jack Frost jumped off Pyro Jack to stand on Jaune's back.

Pyro Jack raised his lamp and started casting [Agilao] on the 3 nearest Beowolves after Frost Jack's cast.

The Beowolf Jaune burned lunged at him and he clenched his fist, feeling the power and all the blood pumping "[Sonic Punch]!" he punched the Beowolf square in the snout sending it away into the air.

Jaune caught up to his siblings and held them "Are you guys okay." Esther nodded while the twins cried.

"Shhh, big brother is here. I'm here, it's gonna be okay"

"Trust in your big Brother Hee-ho!" Jack frost gave a thumb up before jumping from Jaune's back and casting ice on the remaining Beowolves.

"What was that!?" Esther asked.

"I'll explain later." He chuckled and fought with his demons. Using [sonic punch] to finish any frozen Beowolf and casting [Agi] on with Pyro Jacks' [Agilao] on any beowolf getting closer to the kids.

He went back to his sisters while

"It looks cute." Julienne said gesturing to Jack frost.

"Really? I think that pumpkin one is cuter." Juniper stated.

Jaune laughed at the twins, their attention quickly shifting from scared to bickering about who's cuter. He loved his sisters in that weird way they always interact.

"Jaune, we may have a problem." Esther said looking scared

Jaune looked back to see that Beowolves with increased number approaching and they brought with them Creepers as well.

"No way." He trailed off.

"Jaune, I don't think I can cast [agilao] anymore." Pyro jack said with a troubled expression whilst floating back to him.

"Hee-Ho I can still go" Jack frost said with exasperated breath.

"Dammit'" Jaune cursed as he felt his own fatigue kicking in.

His scroll vibrated and there appeared Tico. "Wow, seems like you're in a bind Mr. J! Why not use possession?"

"But won't I-" He didn't dare continue as he didn't want to let his siblings hear.

"Well, its up to you ya' know! At this rate its either you die or let your sisters die with you!" She said with a mischievous grin.

"Dammit, you have a point." He gave a scared smile. "how do I do this? And make it fast." He said.

"Oh! Just give me the order to have any demon possess you!" She giggled. "I suggest Jack Frost!"

"Then do it!"

"Alrighty! Have good weeeeee~! Mr. J!" She said.

"Oh, we're doing this?! Hee-ho!" Jack frost said with excitement before vanishing.

"I hope you'll live, boss. Ho!" so did Pyro Jack.

Then the pentagram at the back of his hand started glowing a light blue. His eyes turned into an icy-blue color, his hair a frosted white then forming on his head is the blue bonnet that Jack Frost was wearing.

He felt it, the influx of magical energy inside of him. He closed his eyes and looked for the strongest ice magic he can muster with Jack Frost. Alone, the two can never cast it individually, but together their potential reached better heights and Jaune understood the price of his next actions.

But did he care? No. If it means saving the life of those that are dear to him, whether it be then, now, or in the future his answer will never waiver. He would do everything he can to hold onto to those who are dear to him.

He opened his eyes. He felt the cold devouring the inside of his body. He knew of the storm that is surrounding them. He looked back and smiled at his siblings before giving a cold glare at the dark beasts that wished to harm his kin. He heard the readied voice of Jack Frost inside of him he understood him clearly. His origins of a spirit from a place called England. The snow elf who brings cold weather and was believed to be the one who formed the frost on the windows and homes of buildings.

He smiled.

"[Mabufudyne]!" He shouted the most powerful ice-based magic that he could muster. Forming a ring of ice around the park that froze every Grimm that surrounded them, then snow started falling from the sky.

Jaune looked up and smiled, realizing that the hat he wore was slowly vanishing and his eyes returned to its former color. He felt a sudden rush of cold inside his body before feeling the warmth running down his lips. He started shaking like a mad man due to the cold and slowly touched his lips to see blood on his fingers.

 _His nose was bleeding._ I bit more than I could chew. He heard his name called and looked to the source to see his parents running at him and upon seeing them he lost consciousness and let the darkness devour his sights.

/-/

He heard it.

" _For it is in our choices that we can make the first step_

He felt it.

 _Through this, we decide our own fate upon our choosing_

 _Unafraid of the reaper's scythe nor against fate's plans_

Like water rippling through his body

 _The choices we make burdens our soul_

 _I release your soul, and by our hands we write our destiny."_

His Aura has returned to him.

/-/

Jaune woke up to see himself back in his room. He felt his whole body bandaged with a bunch of heating packs underneath. He heard his Scroll beep for a notification.

He read the message and it said.

"Notification for new videos."

Jaune opened the Nicaea app and Tico greeted him quietly as she could.

"Mornin' Mr. J~ If you noticed, like, the word video is in plural form? So, you have a bunch of videos to see, let me bring up the list and choose what ya' wanna watch first oh by the way? It's totally different now, like, their death is on a different date or year, whichever comes first, rather than making it close like the one from before and these people here are listed in the order of when their deaths will come. Cool right? You get to prepare yourself!" Tico said, and the screen was filled with names

[Amber

Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long

Weiss Schnee

Blake Belladonna

Pyrrha Nikos

Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie]

"The first one won't come until 2 years later while the last one is at least 4 years? Wow, that's far off! Oh well! That's basically it, have a nice weeeeee~!" Tico said before disappearing.

With a relieved breath Jaune decided to sleep and check the videos after he wakes up. He locked his scroll and proceeded to go to dreamland, unaware of the macca he earned from his last fight.

/Chapter 1 end/

Oh boy, me and my SMT addiction brought me to making a fic about a crossover of two of my beloved things. RWBY and SMT! Also known as Shin Megami Tensei! I've recently played the fourth one and am currently playing SMT Devil survivor 2 (Hence the Nicaea) BUT there's a reason why the scroll isn't enough though *wink*

Wanna play nocturne tho but I have no money HAHAHAHA…. Sigh.

Anywho, if ya liked this chapter leave a like and follow, it only lasts a second or two. And REVIEWS! I like reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

The Grim lands is the uncharted frontier of remnant and living there would be akin to suicide for most people. But there are exceptions to every rule and this one is no exception as well. Which is what Jaune's uncle and cousin would be since they _live_ in the frontier where grim happens to own the territory. Which explains why Jaune himself is running from a pack of beowolves with Jack Frost riding on his shoulders and wrapped under his arm is Pyro Jack.

"Boss! You can let me go, I can escape on my own!" Pyro Jack said.

"Shut it! You can float but I doubt you can float fast enough to get away from them! And even if you do then a flock of Nevermores would get you instead!" Jaune replied while casting [Maragi] at the pack.

"Why are we running?" This time Jack Frost asked.

"Did you forget what uncle Louis said?! Demons attract grim!" Jaune said. Apparently according to his uncle, Demons are made of pure negativity hence the grim are easily attracted to them as they are to regular human negativity.

"Yeah, so?" Jack frost said and casted [Mabufu] at the pack with half of them freezing and shattering.

"If we stop then more will come." Jaune kept running full speed while panting. "And besides, uncle Louis said training my body will help me." Jaune then casted [Maragi] at the remaining beowolves, letting the grim beasts burn and turn into ashes.

Jaune nodded at himself, feeling proud of the achievement of being able to deal with a pack of grim while running unbeknownst to him a arm shot out from behind the tree. His neck hit the arm and he spun in the air before falling on the hard ground.

Jaune spat out some dirt. "Ugh, what was that for Louisa." Jaune groaned.

Entering Jaune's vision was a barefoot blonde girl the same age as him wearing a goat's head hairclip and a rather mischievous smile plastered on her face.

"You know, dear cousin. If you don't pay attention to your surroundings more you'd be killed easily." She said and offered a hand.

Jaune took her hand and was pulled up. "Sheesh, aren't we jumping the gun here? I could be fatally injured at worst. My demons have my back." Jaune patted the dirt off his clothes.

Louisa sighed. "Its because of that way of thinking that I said you'll be killed!"

"I know, I know. Sorry. You always get mad so easily."

"You're the source of it all, you know?" She sighed. "Well, lets go. Dad already made dinner and he wants to talk to you about _that_ " She glanced at his right hand.

Jaune nodded and had his demons return to his stock at the moment. Louisa started walking and Jaune followed suit. When she was at a reasonable distance he opened his scroll, and decided to talk to Tico.

"Good afternoon Mr. J! What can I do for you?" She greeted "Are the videos still locked?" He asked.

Tico nodded.

"Thanks, Tico. You can go now." He sighed.

"Alright then Mr. J! Have a nice deeeeeeeeeeeeeee~" She saluted and vanished. Jaune turned off his scroll. He sighed. After seeing the names pop up last year the timeframe to which he can view the videos was locked due to him being unconscious. And it seems it would alert him again when the day the video happens get close, at least that's what Tico explained to has been a year since the grim incident in his town happened.

A year ago, when he let Jack Frost possess him Jaune was in the brink of dying because 80% of his body, according to the doctors, was frozen and was interfering with his organs. Even in a sauna his body's temperature won't go up. But then his parents had a crazy idea of unlocking his aura to see if it would heal him. And by some miracle or maybe because Jaune had the luck of the devil he was saved. The doctors said any more and he would've turned into a frozen corpse by then.

And then his parents told him that the mark on his right hand was something that he should keep a secret. When they asked about his 'abilities' he showed them the app and the demons and the magic he learned from them. His older sisters were there to see it too. The second eldest showed the most interest in my magic. His mother then told him that she was only able to see the mark on his right hand twice. Once under Beacon Academy and another in a book passed down by the family. Mom is the one from the Arc line and it was dad who took her last name since it was the request of mom's dad. Jaune's late grandfather Lou Sayfa Arc.

His mother's brother continued to study the book passed down to them. His profession was a huntsman as well, but he mostly worked as an archeologist. Travelling around remnant, studying ancient history lost to man. His mother said he would know more about my mark. And so, Jaune and his dad travelled remnant while training his body and brought him to his uncle, Louis Arc.

* * *

[One year ago]

They were in a restaurant in Atlas. It was here that Jaune's uncle, Louis, said he would be meeting them. The last time he met his uncle Jaune could barely remember him. He's seen pictures of him when his parents were younger but Jaune has yet to see him again face-to-face.

"What's uncle Louis like?" Jaune asked while fiddling with his gloved hands.

Jonathan scratched his chin. "I'd say he's to be the most charismatic person I've ever know."

"What's charismatic mean?" He asked.

"It means I'm a very charming man." A voice said from the entrance of the restaurant.

Jonathan smiled and the two father and son duo looked at the figure by the entrance.

Blonde long hair that seem to shine when the sun lights on them, swept back, while wearing a violet business suit crisp and clean that would put every businessman to shame. A charming smile that would draw your lips upward. And most of all, mismatched red and blue eyes.

This was Erica Arc's brother. And Jaune's uncle. Louis Arc.

"Jonathan! As I live and breathe!" The handsome blonde walked towards them with open arms.

Jonathan greeted him with a firm hug. "Its been too long Louis!"

When the two separated Jonathan gestured to his son. "I'm sure you remember Jaune."

"hah! Does he remember me though? Erica's been sending pictures but the last time I've seen him I was changing his diapers." He gave a bright smile.

Jaune was at awe to say the least. The man before him looked the same as the picture he saw him in. "Hello." Jaune said.

"And is the girl behind you who I think she is?" Jonathan asked.

Jaune didn't notice before but a girl wearing a blue dress came forth from behind his uncle. She gave a curtsy bow.

"My name is Louisa Arc. It's a pleasure to meet you dear uncle."

"You've grown into quite the lady Louisa." Jonathan gave a small bow as well.

"And you are?" She asked the blonde boy.

He blinked once. The beautiful girl in front of her causing the gears inside his head to stop ad if there was a wrench stuck in-between. And his thoughts went all around.

 _Please don't think I'm boring Please don't think I'm boring Please don't think I'm boring Please don't think I'm boring Please don't think I'm boring_.

"Hi, I'm Boring- Jaune Arc!" He said his name too fast it sounded like he said JawNarc instead.

She chuckled. "Well, its nice to meet you Boring Jaw Narc."

"Sorry, Its Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"Don't mind her Jaune. She's a cheeky brat." Louis said.

Louisa hit his father's arm with slightly flushed cheeks.

"And therefore, you'd never grow out of your social anxiety. Ever." He snickered.

Jonathan laughed and gestured for them all to take a seat. Jaune looked around and saw that the people in the restaurant seem to be incredibly fixated on their table. Specifically, his uncle. After finishing the meal, they ordered they just sat there drinking.

"So, Jonathan. What's this matter of utter importance that you had to call me?" He said, sipping on a drink of water from his glass. Even when doing a simple act as drinking the man's done it with elegance. While his daughter sipped tea with the same demeanor as her father. Jaune just stared at his chocolate milk while listening to the two adults talking.

"Do you still have the book your family had?" Jonathan asked with a serious tone.

Louis' face changed as well. "Yes, what of it."

"Were you able to learn anything from it?"

"I've learned a lot of things from it. Why? You never had any interest on it, let alone Erica." Louis' eyes narrowed.

Jonathan sighed. "Jaune, show it to him." Jaune nodded and followed his father's orders. He removed the gloves from his right hand and showed it to his uncle. "I want to know if there's anything you can say about this."

Louis' eyes widened, and it seems that his daughter's interest was piqued as well. But then Louis' eyes narrowed. "Does Ozpin know of this?"

Jonathan shook his head.

"Good. Don't let him. And we shouldn't talk about this here. Come with us to our hotel." Jonathan agreed, and they head straight for the hotel room after paying for their meal.

Once they got to the hotel, Louis made sure the place was secure and that no one would be listening in on them. He then asked Jaune if he knew about the tale of the four maidens. To which he shook his head and his father explained it to him. Including the fact that they were real and that the relics of old are, in a way, guarded by these said maidens. Oddly enough, with the existence of demons and magic he wasn't too much surprised.

"You're taking this rather well, Jaune." Louis said.

"Well, I could hardly be surprised, uncle. I mean I summoned demons and did magic." Jaune said.

"Will you please explain this further?" Louis asked with a fascinated look on his face. Jaune told him the events that transpired. Excluding the dream and the death video app, Jaune told him everything that happened. He didn't have any concrete reason but he _felt_ like he shouldn't tell anyone about the videos

"I see." He pondered for a bit.

"Is there something the matter?" Jonathan asked.

"Louisa?"

"Yes, Father? Will you take Jaune out for a bit, I need to talk to his father. Here some Lien for iced cream." He handed her some Lien cards before looking to Jonathan. His eyes sending a message and Jonathan nodded.

"Go with her. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."

Louisa walked out and Jaune followed suit.

"So, that was a thing." He said.

"Truly. Adults can be so secretive at times."

"So, you're my cousin, right?"

She gave a smirk. "Jaune, I'm your only cousin."

"Oh yeah. I guess I can't say you're my favorite cousin then?" He grinned. For some reason, the awkwardness he felt from before meeting her suddenly started to melt away. As if he's known her for a long time already.

"Well, I accept compliments with open arms so feel free to do so." She started skipping along the hotel hallway.

"So, where are we going?" The boy asked.

"To get some iced cream! What else is there?"

"I don't know, an arcade would be nice."

"What's an arcade?"

"It's a place where you can play a bunch of video games."

"What're video games?" She stopped and tilted her head.

"Video games are the adult's greatest gift to kids." He smiled and explained the things they can play in an arcade.

"That sounds amazing! But do we have enough Lien though?"

"How much did uncle give you anyway?"

Louisa showed the Lien chips.

Jaune blinked. He was taken aback at the amount of Lien her father gave her. "Oh, I think this is enough and more." Jaune said. The two then grinned and ran around looking for an arcade.

It was there that Jaune learned a lot of things.

 _Louisa did not like to lose._

The pair decided to play a fighting game. It was called Rekken 5 and Jaune was fairly good at it. After teaching her the game mechanics they lost on the first match.

"Well, its to be expected. It _is_ your first time." He said. "C'mon, let's play another game!"

"No!" She said with a small pout.

"Uh, what?" Jaune asked.

"We'll play this again. I might've chosen the wrong character."

"Okay, then."

Needless to say, she lost the second match.

"Again."

And lost the third.

"Again!"

Jaune tried to let her win the same way she lets her younger sisters do but was physically assaulted by her instead.

"I don't need your pity!" She stated

She lost the fifth match.

"One more!"

And this time she won the sixth match. Unfortunately. Even with one win she'd lord it over you as if you're the one who's been losing the whole time. She smiled with pride at the achievement. Jaune let her be, her mood is a good enough reward as it is.

 _Her mood? Since when was that ever important?_ Jaune shook the thoughts away. Probably instincts from being with seven sisters.

 _Jaune learned that he did not like to lose at DDR. And that Louisa is huntsmen-trained._

It took fifteen tries and one begging Jaune but it was what allowed him to save himself from having zero win against Louisa.

 _Louisa hates being cheated and cheaters._

One game where you're supposed to stack blocks over the other to win a prize was rigged. Immediately she went to the manager and made a complaint about it. And it escalated to her almost filing a lawsuit against them.

 _And last, Louisa likes things that were required hard work to get_

Jaune saw a hairclip by the rewards counter that Louisa seemed to keep eyeing. So, his 'big brother' instincts kicked.

"Hey, Louisa. Can I borrow some Lien?" He asked.

"Borrow? Silly Jaune. You can take as much as you want." She smiled.

Jaune shook his head and took 1 Lien. From there he played the 'gamble' games that would multiply his Lien. Of course, Louisa was there to watch him. Jaune won some and lost some but when he had enough Lien he started playing games that would win him tickets. He took the one where he can easily meet the required tickets for a certain item.

"Jaune! Father called. We should go."

Jaune nodded and returned the one Lien he borrowed. "Meet me at the entrance!" He then ran off to the counter before Louisa could say anything.

Jaune got to the counter and presented the tickets. "I'd like to get the hairclip, sir!"

An old man with red sunglasses and a nametag on his chest that read 'Nergal' turned around and faced Jaune.

"What will you be getting, dear customer?" He asked.

"I'd like that." Jaune pointed at a silver hairclip of a goat's head encased in a Velvet blue box with a glass cover.

"Really? No one's ever wanted that thing I even put the ticket price down. Hell, I was planning to throw it away too." The old man said. "Lucky you and lucky me I guess." He chuckled and gave the item to Jaune. "Give my regards to the princess." Jaune could swear the old man winked at him. Jaune became red-faced and left running. Failing to understand the true meaning behind Nergal's words.

Jaune arrived at the entrance with a slightly angry blonde cousin. "Sorry! Were you waiting long?"

Her arms were crossed, and her right finger was tapping on her arm. Clearly irritated.

"Jaune. It is impolite to leave a girl waiting alone, you know." She said with clear anger in her face.

"Right, well sorry. I just got something for you." He said with a grin as he handed her the velvet box containing the hairclip of a goat's head.

"I saw you looking at it earlier, so I thought to get it for you. And I didn't want to use your money for it, so I had to do all of that." He snickered.

"Jaune, you are a bumbling buffoon." She said with a smile.

"Wait, you didn't like it!?" Jaune asked.

"No, you idiot. I love it. But you could've told me earlier and I would've helped."

"Now where's the fun in that." Jaune grinned.

Louisa rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Then I shall give you the honor of putting it on me." She said.

Jaune recalled the words the old man said. "As you wish, princess." He snickered and took the hairclip from its box and attached to the side of her head.

"How does it look?" She asked with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, I uh, think it looks good on you." He gave an awkward smile.

The two then went back to the hotel only to be surprised by what his uncle announced.

"You'll be travelling with us." He said with a grin after dropping that bomb.

Jonathan then explained "What he means is, you will be training with your uncle with regards to your 'abilities'. And your mom already gave her consent."

"Training? Training for what?"

Jonathan swallowed. "To be a huntsman."

* * *

[Present day]

And now Jaune and his Uncle Louis and cousin Louisa had just finished eating their meal, and it seems his uncle had a story to tell.

"Now, Jaune. As I've explained last year, you remember the story of the four maidens?"

Jaune nodded.

"Well, it turns out that the four maidens have four counterparts to them as well. They are called the apostles of remnant. It was written in ancient language at the doors that guard the four gifts that four men will inherit these relics, one relic for each of them. And that symbol on your hand, Jaune is the same symbol engraved on a door under the Beacon huntsmen academy."

"How do you know all this, uncle." Jaune asked.

"Other than being one of the few huntsmen who knows about the headmaster's secrets, the book passed down in our family has information regarding ancient history. History that was once turned out to be dead but has now risen from what it looks like." Louis looked at Jaune's right hand.

"I see. But why not tell the headmaster about me then?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune. You're my family. Which is why me and Jonathan agreed not to tell anyone about you. If Ozpin knows of your existence, you'd be turned into a pawn just like us. You do not need to bear the same weight that we do. Ozpin is as dangerous as the enemy he is facing, Jaune. You'd either become a sacrificial pawn or turned into a guinea pig."

Jaune gulped. "Is that why we're in the frontier?"

"Yes. We want to hide you from Ozpin. And your demons would endanger your family, Jaune. Its what almost killed your sisters." Louis said bluntly.

Jaune looked down out of guilt his hands started shaking. Every time he was reminded that he could've killed his sisters he always becomes like this. Guilt would eat him up and drown him. But then as always, a light would pull him up from his own sea of despair.

Louisa put a hand on his shoulder. "You saved them, Jaune. You don't have to think of the things you didn't know. But think of what you did for them."

Jaune gave a tired smile. "Thanks, Louisa."

To which she just gave a small smile.

"So, why train me then?" Jaune asked.

"One, as the apostle you will inherit the relic one way or another. Two, to do that you'd need to apply in Beacon Academy. And three, before you do that, you must be someone who can pass the Academy's requirements."

"And then what?"

"And then, well, whatever you want to do, as the apostle of choice." He paused and gave a grin. "Its your choice to do what you want."

Jaune groaned at his uncle's joke.

Louisa rolled her eyes.

Since it was Louisa's turn to wash the dishes, Jaune had free time to himself. "I'll be going out for a bit, for some fresh air."

His uncle and his cousin nodded. Jaune went out the cabin's porch and leaned his back on the railings. Reading the nameplates by the door.

Jaune Miles Arc.

Louis Cyphre Arc

Louisa Ferre Arc.

Jaune smiled at his name being there, despite its lack of elegance due to it being put there by him and the wooden nameplate was made by him, as opposed to the golden nameplates his uncle and cousin had. He frowned then laughed at the memory of Louisa teasing him about his lack of aesthetic sense.

 _I wonder, what will the future hold for me?_

[End]

 **AAAAAAAAAAYYYYEEE Its ya boy, Shaniic! THIS ONE, THIS, FRIGGIN' ONE. Took me so much time before I could even start it. I'm in a friggin' slump but I think this one turned out okay. Hopefully it did.**

 **For the RWBY fans, this is not gonna be a Jaune X Non-RWBY fic, still not sure but expect a RWBY character as his future.**

 **For SMT I wonder if ya'll recognize Louis and Louisa. Ofc ya do!**

 **For those who have yet to play any SMT franchise game except DeSu (Devil Survivor) then search up Louis Cyphre and Louisa Ferre! P.s. they are blood related which is gonna be an important tidbit in the future!**

 **Anyway, please leave a like and a follow if you deem it worthy. And REVIEWWWW I LOVE REVIEWS.**

 **And an actual postnote. Leave in the comments demons you want to see in the future and list out any SMT GAMES you've played and or watched in an anime, so I know if I gotta make explanations for other terms and such. And with that, sayonara or something like that!**


	3. Chapter 3

Seasons change and so does people. Well, that would've been what Jaune believed if it wasn't for him colliding with a signpost when he was walking while reading a map. He lied flat on the ground staring at the clear blue sky. He sighed in exasperation as his cousin Louisa kept poking his side with a stick as if he was a dead possum on the road.

"I'm still alive, Louisa." He said.

"I've always thought that you'd kick the bucket early with your recklessness. But never have I thought that a signpost is all it would take." She continued her poking with a cheeky smile one her face.

Jaune stood up and took another look at his map.

"What do use is that even when father regularly visits Grendel, Jaune. I doubt anything has changed over the week since he last went." Louisa said.

There were times when Louisa and Jaune would be alone in their home at the frontier where his uncle would leave instructions for his training while he traveled remnant for who knows what reasons. And today, he decided on a whim that Louisa and he would go with him to meet a huntsman at Grendel since it was a meeting regarding the book he has been studying half of his life.

"Yeah but _I_ haven't been there yet. And learning to do so if I ever get lost is good reason to." He said with a proud smile.

"Can you even read a map?"

The teen paused. And crumpled his map and put it inside his pocket.

"You're helpless." She held her temple with her thumb and forefinger.

He shrugged and looked at the sign. It was just informing them how far Grendel is but there was something wrong. Jaune tilted his head.

"Hey, Louisa… Is it just me or is this sign…" he trailed off as he held his chin.

"Yes. It is tilted." She said with a deadpan expression. "You broke it. Fix it." She demanded.

"Kay'" Jaune replied nonchalantly. He moved the sign towards the left.

"Too much. A bit more to the right – wait! Perfect!" She leaned back and stared.

He stepped back to see a better view of it. He looked at Louisa and much to his expectation she was staring at the sign with a proud expression.

 _Even though it was me who did all the work._

"Let's go you two. We're burning daylight here. I want to reach Grendel while the sun is up." His uncle, Louis Cyphre said as he continued walking.

Weirdly enough his uncle was still wearing his suit despite the long journey ahead while his cousin was wearing a white and blue one-piece sundress. The hairclip he gave her shining under the sun.

"How can you two keep looking good even though we're travelling?" Jaune asked.

"Well, father and I take pride with how we look; hence we have to keep up with our appearances."

"Is that why I'm carrying all our stuff?" He gestured to his rucksack behind him.

Louisa smiled. "Silly Jaune. That's for your huntsman training. You have to have stamina or else you'd end up a corpse when faced against Grimm!"

They finally caught up with his uncle.

"Well, if that happens then I can use my demon skills."

"And if you get tired?"

"I'd summon demons."

"Which would attract more Grimm."

"I-"

"What are rules number one and two?" She cut him off with a question.

Jaune noticed his uncle was secretly paying attention to them humming to make it seem like he's not. He sighed.

"Rule number one is to always hide the mark. And that includes the use of magic indiscriminately."

"And why is that?" His uncle asked.

"Because it can attract suspicions."

"And if anyone asks?"

"It's a part of my semblance."

The charismatic uncle nodded.

"Rule number two; Never summon demons unless I need to."

"Why is that again?" Louisa asked with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Because it attracts Grimm."

"And?"

"Because it can also attract suspicions."

She nodded with a satisfied smile.

Jaune sighed. Every single day these rules have been drilled inside Jaune that he knows them by the back of his hand- nay, every time he sees the back of his hands the rules his uncle implemented would always echo in his head. It was okay during the first few months. He understood the gravity of his situation but keep repeating it for a year then yeah, it gets annoying by then.

Two years have already passed since he first received the demon summoning app, also known as Nicaea. Two years mean that one of the videos would be unlocked soon. He was worried to say the least. He did not know anything about the people that was listed to die.

Tico had made it clear that he had the _choice_ to just let fate screw with their lives or _he_ would screw fate himself. The names were nostalgic, or rather an evocative feeling comes into his head, as if there was information that was being held back by a wall and just waiting to burst out like a dam. He was just a teenager. And knowing that the lives of people you don't know is in your hands was not a lighthearted situation to be in.

He merely sighed as he walked onwards to the path in front of him

/-/

Upon arrival in Grendel the trio of blonde went straight to the Inn. According to his uncle the town was going to celebrate their Harvest Festival once the sun has been down. And it was in their best interest that they confirm the reservation that his uncle prepared beforehand since he knew about the said festival.

His uncle was talking to the receptionist while Louisa and he decided to stay outside the Inn's front porch. They were watching the townsmen prepare for the festival. Putting up stalls and readying decorations.

Both loved people watching like this whenever they visited towns in the frontier. Observing and relishing in the peace.

"Apparently this is a festival to thank their local farmers and workers for their hard work." Louisa started. Leaning on the railings with her elbows.

Jaune held the railings himself. "Yeah? Well that's nice. Being appreciated once or twice isn't a bad feeling."

"It _is_ nice but" she paused. "I believe that's not the real reason they celebrate." She stated with a rather bored expression.

"Oh? Then why do they celebrate it if not to thank these wonderful workers?" He asked.

"To fight off negativity. Small towns like these can't afford help from a professional huntsman. Look around and you can see that the town's militia aren't well prepared. A mere sword on their hip. Some have spears if they're lucky enough." And true to her words the men who were equipped and served as law are prepared for any lawbreakers in their community.

But not the Grimm. And huntsmen who provide their services for free are a dime a dozen these days.

Louisa sighed. "And the kingdoms are tied up enough as it is that they can only respond when the Grimm excursion is already happening."

Jaune didn't want to admit the truth but no matter how one looks away, the truth would always be there. Hell, when his town was attacked by Grimm it was mere luck or maybe coincidence even that his parents were Huntsmen trained.

He watched as a middle-aged man just finished setting up his stall, assisted by a younger male. Once done, a woman came up to them offering a jug of lemonade. The two drank and then a young boy, around ten years of age ran up to the woman and gave her a hug. A sign of a satisfied and happy family.

But who knows how much the parents have fought for reasons only the heavens know. Or how the boy would ask to be spoiled by the parents earning the ire of what seems to be the older brother. It was one of the few things his uncle taught him, not to be cynical no, but that there's always two sides on the same coin.

"But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it." Jaune muttered.

"What do you mean?" Louisa asked.

Jaune smiled. "Tonight, we're going to celebrate the Harvest festival!"

"Jaune, did you even listen to what I said?" She asked.

"Of course, I did!" He said.

"And pray do tell, what do you think of it?" She faced him and put both hands on her hips.

"I think I don't care and that we should enjoy what the town's festival offers." He gave a wide grin.

Louisa sighed in defeat but Jaune's smile became wider when he saw the small smile that crept up her face.

/-/

Jaune was forced to wait at the Inn's lobby as he waited for Louisa to prepare herself.

 _Its just changing clothes. Why do women take so much time to prepare?_

He based this on his daily experiences with his sisters, specifically the older ones. He misses their presence but then again, he also appreciates being away from them. Footsteps were heard by the stairs and Jaune looked towards its direction to see Louisa, wearing a different kind of light blue dress under a black jacket that reaches only her torso. She wore sandals and her hair was tied with a pair of hair sticks and the hairclip he gave her was attached to the left side of her head.

In contrast to him who just wore a zip up hoodie with a white shirt underneath and a jeans with sneakers combo.

"Do you never get tired of wearing dresses?" Jaune asked.

"Do you never get tired of wearing hoodies?" She retorted.

"Touché, Louisa."

She gave him a sickeningly sweet smile before heading for the door to which Jaune followed suit.

"Where's your dad?" He asked.

"Oh, he's going to the local pub to drink." Louisa said casually. His uncle wasn't a drunkard but that doesn't mean he doesn't drink. He partakes in it occasionally when he has free time but never to the point where he'd be wasted.

The two of them walked around the night with the town decorated with lights around the streets. Lights which all lead towards the Plaza where the festival was truly at. Stalls selling food and other items lined at the sides with a makeshift stage for the orchestra which played a happy tune and adults and teens dancing at the center.

It was a lively night.

His stomach grumbled. Louisa gave him a questioning look.

"we traveled, and we haven't had dinner. What do you expect?"

"Fair enough." She said. "Let us go see what their stalls have to offer." She said leading the way to the food stalls.

The pair arrived at a small stall that served a breakfast menu. It was weird, but its unique menu would catch anyone's attention. And it seems it attracts unique people as well. After receiving a paper bag of what they ordered, he passed by a rather familiar-looking crimson hoodie accompanied by a pair of blonde, one an older male and the other a rather buxom female.

He resisted the urge to turn around and decided to take a seat in one of the tables that the stall set up for their customers.

Jaune sat down and took in a deep breath.

"Is something the matter?" Louisa asked, sitting down in front of him.

"It's nothing, I just – I suddenly feel cold cause' of the wind." He lied.

"I see." She hummed. "Well it is rather chilly as of late." She pulled her jacket closer to her body.

Jaune gave a troubled chuckle as he decided to dig in, with the unique trio from before deciding to take a seat by the table near them, granted the stall only had two tables available. Therefore, unwillingly Jaune was forced to listen to their conversation as he focused on his meal.

"So where _is_ uncle Qrow?" He heard the blonde speak.

"He's meeting with an acquaintance of ours." The male replied.

A muffled voice then spoke out. "rrru?"

"Ruby, don't talk when your mouth is full." The blonde girl said. "What were you trying to say sis?

He heard a gulping sound. "I was asking –"

"Jaune!"

Jaune's head snapped forward towards the direction of the voice that called out to him with a hiss.

"What?" He asked Louisa.

His cousin sighed. "Did you not hear a word I've said?" She asked.

Jaune choked for bit to look for an answer "I was too busy with my food." He gestured to the plastic fork that was bitten until unrecognizable.

"Yes, truly you are." She quipped.

"I think I've eaten enough." Jaune said with a troubled smile. "Want to check out the other stalls?"

Louisa gave an exasperated sigh before standing up. "We might as well. I wouldn't want such a nice night end so short after all."

Jaune stood up as well and walked around with Louisa seeing the various delights the festival brought. Again, he resisted the sudden urge to turn his head and have a better look of the trio that he encountered.

At one point they were able to find a stall that sold different kinds of masks. One from t.v. shows up to the cultural myths that the people of the continent was fond of.

The stall sign said 'Masks of Fate: Draw a piece of paper from a box and get your fated mask!'

"Wow, they're all so well made."

Louisa nodded in fascination towards the masks on display.

"Wanna' try it kids? One attempt is ten Lien each." The stall keeper gave a toothy smile.

"Wow, uh, ain't ten lien too much?" the blonde boy asked.

"Each mask has an accessory that comes with it."

"I see." He looked at Louisa who wasn't paying attention and was practically drooling at the designs.

"I'd like to draw two please." Jaune said, handing twenty Lien to the man.

"Thank you for your patronage!" He crouched down under his stall to grab a box. Jaune called out and explained things to Louisa.

"Let me pay you –"

"Nope!" Jaune said.

"But –"

"Nope!" He repeated.

Louisa gave a smile that says 'I give up'. "Okay, but you pick for the both of us." Jaune nodded at that.

"One paper for each!" The old man said.

Jaune put his hand into the paper and thought ti his mind repeatedly to at least get something decent. He then pulled out and gave the paper to the stall keeper.

"Wow! Congrats! You got a pair of Mistralian Sumi-e leather masks _!_ One of a fox and a rabbit." He said.

He pulled out a pair of boxes and gave it to Jaune.

"Please enjoy the festival!" he said with a smile plastered on his face.

Jaune opened the boxes. The rabbit mask was leather and colored white with red inked marks on its ear and forehead, and it came with a pair of black leather gloves and the fox had the same theme as the rabbit's but the accessory it came with was a goat hairclip like what Louisa was wearing.

Finally making his decision he offered the fox mask to Louisa.

"Here, you should have this. I think the rabbit mask suits me more and that you'd look great wearing another of your hairclip." He said as he wore his new mask and gloves. The mask only covered the upper half of his face and the gloves were comfortable as well.

"How do I look?" He asked.

"You look silly." Louisa replied with a small laugh

"Oh yeah? Let's see you wear those then." He gestured towards the items Louisa was carrying.

"I'm sure I'd looke _far_ better than you." She stated before wearing her mask.

It was the same that it would cover half of her face. She looked to Jaune with eyes filled with expectation. "Well?"

"You look sly." Jaune chuckled.

The boy then hears the music picking up pace. "Hey, this is a nice song!" he then offered a hand, as like how a noble would in a ball.

"May I ask thee, for a dance milady?"

Louisa winced in surprise before chickling softly and taking his hand. "Why yes, kind sir. You may." And the pair danced to the merry night.

/-/

When they arrived back in their Inn's room his uncle has yet to return from how empty the place was.

Jaune plopped down his bed and Louisa sat by her own bed.

"Guess uncle is still drinking?" he mumbled to his pillow.

"I'm sure he's just taking care of drunks at this point." She said as she grabbed hold of a brush and started to do her hair.

Jaune's scroll beeped with two notifications. One from his uncle and from Nicaea.

Followed by another beep from Louisa's own.

He ignored the latter and focused on the former instead.

"Speak of the devil." He said.

"He messaged you as well?" Louisa asked.

Jaune nodded and read the message.

"From: Uncle Lou.

About to get back to the Inn with a huntsman. Nephew, remember; Rule no. 3.

Louisa, remind him of Rule no. 3"

"Jaune, tell me again, what is rule number three?" She asked with a rather more serious tone in her voice.

Jaune took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Rule number three.

 _Never trust huntsmen._ "

/Chapter 3 end/

 **Happy holidays and all that everyone! Hopefully this shit made sense. And if you're wondering why Louis and Louisa are keen with rules, well you'll have to find out in the latter chapters to come.**

 **Please like, follow, and review! Reviews are needed for improvement.**

 **To be honest I had a hard time with writing in general cuz I feel lethargic but nevertheless I hope I get to improve with you guys'! help.**

 **P.s. Don't forget to say your fave demons and shit!**

 **Love and peace! Out!**


	4. Chapter 4

Louisa respects the profession of huntsmen and huntresses. She respects their talents and skills of putting down Grimm, and sometimes even criminals, she respects how they are regarded as a beacon of hope, and she respects how they value true strength above all else. But that does not mean she has to like them. Louisa believes that many who practices this dangerous profession do not honor the meaning of it and just chose to do it for the glory and the perks one gets from being one. The Lien, the fame, hell you can even use it to seduce people into trusting you.

She respects them, but she doesn't like them. She knew this because of how her father raised her. He showed him that Grimm are to be taken down for self-defense lest you want them to take you down. He taught her how Huntsmen, or even people in general, are not to be trusted because they are irrational.

They do things that defy logic and would be held by their emotions. Well, such thoughts are not unwelcome since there are perks to that as well. One of them being is her cousin, Jaune. Emotional he may be, it is not in a way that could be frowned upon. He is Naïve, a bumbling yet honest fool, listens to what she says, and most of all he is loyal.

Which is why when the drunk huntsman came, he was wary of him.

And not because of what her father always told him, but because of what she told him _about_ the drunkard. She revealed to him how the man is an agent of Ozpin. The one man that Jaune must absolutely hide his powers from.

Qrow sat on her father's bedside staring at the floor. While both Jaune and her was at their room's balcony watching the two adults, waiting for them.

"So, these your brats?" The drunk slurred.

Louis removed his necktie and gave a sigh of relief. "Louisa is my daughter and with her is my nephew, Jaune." He pointed at them respectively.

"Nephew? You mean his Erina's kid?" He asked with an eyebrow up.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Nothing, I just never heard of their son being a combatant."

"Ah, I assure you he is a good fighter as his sisters if that's what you're asking."

"It is. Out of all of us you should know how dangerous it is to live in the frontier."

"And how efficient it is a place to be stronger." Louise gave a proud smile.

"You and your need to be strong." Qrow spat. "Reminds me of my sister."

"Well, she had the right mindset, but was wrong in its delivery." He coughed. "I'd never turn back on family."

"I know, I know. Erina would kill you if you did."

Louis looked away with a tinge of red on his face. "Death would be a mercy if I were to cross her."

The two shared a look before laughing and snickering at Erina's expense.

"So, what brings you here anyway?" Qrow asked.

"Well, you're straight to the point."

"Let's cut the bullshit. You only ever stop your duties as an archeologist when you need something as a huntsman."

"I need your assistance in procuring a letter of recommendation."

"For Signal?"

"No, for Beacon."

The drunk looked at the two kids and narrowed his eyes at them. Louisa crossed her arms in a challenging manner while Jaune played a game on his Scroll.

"I see, two recommendations are needed if you want a student into Beacon that never had training from combat schools."

"Yes. One from you and from me." Louis said as he sat down on a chair and watched the drunkard.

"Well, if that's all you need then there's no problem." Qrow stood up prepared to leave.

"And I also want to know how _everything_ is going."

Qrow sighed before nodding his head at Louisa and Jaune's direction.

Louis nodded and approached the two. "Qrow and I will be talking in a moment and I would ask some privacy."

"Right, Jaune and I shall leave the both of you to it" Louisa said, ready to leave with her cousin but was held back when her father took hold of her.

"I just need Jaune to leave for a while. You, you will be staying."

Jaune looked between her and his uncle.

"Don't worry Jaune, this will only take a few minutes. You enjoy the remains of the festivities while you're out." Louis said with a reassuring smile.

Louisa clicked her tongue in frustration since she did not want to stay in a room smelling like that of alcohol. "I'll most probably follow you as well when I'm no longer needed." She crossed her arms and tapped her toes on the wooden floor, a clear sign of annoyance plastered on her face.

Jaune nodded and left the room, not once looking at the drunk huntsman.

"Are you sure this is smart? She's a little bit too young for this." Qrow questioned.

"I leave no secrets with my daughter, Qrow. She knows everything that I know." He smiled.

"Of course, you and your family ideals." He scoffed before continuing. "I'll tell you what you need but not everything. There's a reason it called the 'inner' circle, and last I checked, some runt like her isn't a part of it."

"And yet here she stays, her knowledge of the maidens and relics equal to my own." Louis said with a gentle smile.

As the conversation about her continued her scowl became deeper and deeper, and unable to contain her self she cut between the conversation of the adults and gave a loud sigh.

"Look, can't we get this over with? Your primary concern is my loyalty. My concern is for you to leave this room because your stench is irritating." She spat. "So, why not cut to the chase, yes? My loyalty belongs to my father, who trusts me, and I trust as well. And my father, somewhat believes in your superior's goals despite not agreeing with how things are done."

"Your point?" Qrow asked with an eyebrow up, unfazed by the little girl's anger.

"My point is this, just tell us how the war with Salem is going and maybe, just maybe, we would be inclined to help."

"And why would we need your help?" Qrow asked.

The father-daughter duo shared a look before nodding at each other.

Louis looked at him in the eyes. "Because we have information that may be equal to the importance of a maiden."

Qrow's eyes widened in surprise. Surprise that was enough to brush off the effect of two bottles that he emptied earlier.

* * *

He left the town of Grendel and decided to enter the nearby forest, trying to make sure that he's got proper privacy, he pulled out his wireless earpiece that he bought with all his allowance a few months back, and his Scroll. The same Scroll that had the Nicaea app which he received 3 years ago.

He sat down on a stump before looking at the notification message stating that a video has been unlocked. He swallowed and connected the two device and wore the earpiece and booted up the Demon Summoning Program.

"Hey-a Mistah' J!" The energetic program greeted him with glee.

"Hi Tico."

"Whatcha' need?"

"I wanted to see the available video."

"ooohhh~ Its finally starting hm~" Tico giggled with excitement. "I gotcha' Mr. J. Let me play it for you, and with that said, have a nice waaaaaaaaaa~" She pulled out something from the end of the screen and went to the other end, vanishing to nothingness whilst being replaced by the video player. It was cartoonish in a sense, much like the attitude that Tico had.

And it appeared before him. The figure of the huntsman that he met earlier

 _Qrow. The huntsman friend of Uncle Louis._

And in front of them four figures stood in confidence, their faces obscured for some reason or another, but he was able to notice that one out of the three had a robe on them, obscuring any information about them. He assumed they were assailants due to the way the other girl was crouched down and in pain while the huntsman had his hand atop his abdomen, blood oozing out from the gaps of his fingers.

The hooded stranger raised their hand up and brought it down, bringing lightning to strike them both. The two endured but the lightning completely drained them of their aura. The huntsman said something, but Jaune failed to distinguish what it was as there was no voice coming from the feed. But the girl nodded and ran the opposite direction, or at least she attempted to until her legs were frozen by the same figure who summoned the lightning. The girl fell on all-fours and looked back on her assailants, another flash of lightning came down on the huntsman. The camera focused on the obscured figures only to reveal that the huntsman was nothing but a charred corpse. And then, a hand of one person held out at the woman only for the screen to fade to black.

Jaune let out the contents of his dinner, for the burnt corpse of a person still unnerved him. Grimm vanish when they die, but the fact that a live person that he just saw earlier would be dead was not an easy thing to swallow.

He took a deep breath and let it out when he stopped vomiting. He knew full-well that the lightning that struck and the ice that formed on the girl's legs are magic. After all, he knows how to use them well, he was well-acquainted with the skills used. Though he's only seen the basics, [Zio] and [Bufu]. Recently, one of the demons he got through the demon auction house, a feature that Jaune discovered because of Tico 'forgetting' about it, taught him the basic concept of demon magic, as well as teaching him some.

[Ziodyne] is a kind of magic that unleashes a powerful lightning attack, it brings heavy damage to the enemy and it is the third form of its basic form [Zio], which was already mastered by Jaune but has yet to reach the level of the second form which was [Zionga], although he has learned of [Mazio] which is good as it targets whole groups rather than one being.

And much like the ice skill that he once used, [Bufu], it has a second and third form as well, [Bufula] and [Bufudyne]. Both of which he has yet to reach nor master. He gave another sigh, although he _does_ have a trump card, he never knew that he'd use it. He thought he was the only one that can use magic. Apparently, accidentally learning the skill proved useful.

Problem is, the said trump card can only be used at least once if he wants to use other magic skills. Use it another time and he's aura would be completely depleted. He took another look at his scroll and re-watched the video.

"Tico, you mentioned that the people who I see in these videos are tied to my fate right?"

Tico appeared with a salute. "Yuuuup!"

Jaune scanned the title of the video; Amber Autumn. The blonde concluded that that was the name of the girl in the video.

"Even if I don't know them?" He asked.

"Yes. Nicaea is a dead-face delivery it's an app made by someone, dunno' who though, to deliver future deaths of people you have a relationship with - BUT!" She shouted before Jaune could interrupt. "That was its only function in its 1.0 Version. As you can see from the title screen of the app, it's the 'Nicaea Ver. 2.5', which means that the creator made a few improvements to the application~" She cheered.

"I know about the demon summoning, cathedral of shadows for demon fusion, and the compendium, even the Auction house. Are there anymore that I should know? You know, anything that you _forgot_ again?" Those were the few things he was able to explore and experiment on with the app in the past few years.

Tico nodded. "Gooooood thing you asked, Mistah' J! About that, I may have forgotten a few tiny bits of details." She pouted.

"One of the improvements made is that the people shown here are people who has the high probability of being tied to your fate." She explained. "Think of it this way, People's lives are a thread, like yours, but there are parts of these life-threads wherein your life is tied into a knot with theirs, and it is in these knotted intersections where possibilities outside the realm of reality could converge and or diverge. But be warned, these are probabilities and they are not constant."

"Which means that it could or could not happen." Jaune concluded.

"Correctomundo Mistah' J!"

"Okay, are there anything else?"

"Weeeelll, there is one more."

"What?"

"There's another awesome function that Nicaea included in its 2.5 update!" She jumped around the screen and cheered. "There are now sub-apps that you can use! If you scroll down the menus you can find it in the [Sub] tab. These sub-apps are helpful functions that can make yer' life easier! What they specifically are though? That's something you gotta find out! Anyway, that's everything and anything about the new Nicaea~ This is your navigator Tico-tico signing off until ya' call me again!"

And true enough, after navigating a while he was able to find the tab and saw the list of applications that he can get.

There was a few that caught his eye.

Demon stock expansion 1

and

Skill Expansion.

Usually he can only learn five demon skills and have six demons in the application, but it seems he can add more to them.

"Well, this is useful." He chuckled to himself, he decided to get Skill Expansion 1 in case that he can learn a new demon skill, he chose to hold off on Demon stock expansion as he didn't need any demons for now except for the five that he has. Currently he has the following [Mabufula], [Mazio], [Agilao], [Sonic Punch], and his trump card. As well as five demons, two of which are Pyro Jack and Jack Frost.

Now he has two problems. When and where was the incident going to happen. He assumes that it would be tomorrow, since the dead-face delivery service was supposed to send it before it would happen.

Since the video indicates that it happened during the day, albeit the grey skies, it was too bright to be in the evening. After the second watch of the video he didn't need to guess where it was going to happen.

After all, he was the one who fixed the nearby signpost.

Unbeknownst to him that while viewing the video for a second time Louisa was behind him, watching along with him.

The video ended, and she spoke up with her lips beside his free ear. "What was that, dear old cousin of mine?"

Jaune jumped in surprise, his scroll slipping off his hold before struggling to get it back. "Ugh, Louisa, stop scaring me, will you?" He sighed. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Their need with me was over so I left them and looked for you, and to my surprise you're here watching a video." She smirked. "Is that a naughty video, Jaune?"

"How much did you see?"

She smiled. "Enough to know that the drunken Qrow dies and that the father knows as the Fall Maiden has been struck down as well."

"So basically from start to finish?"

"Hey. Mistah J?" Tico called out to him through his earpiece.

Jaune didn't answer in since his cousin is watching him.

"I think, well, its just my opinion, but I think you should tell your uncle and cousin about this." She said. "I mean, you told your family, why not tell them? You might not know, they may know more things than what you do." She said before turning his Scroll off.

Jaune sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you."

Jaune told Louisa everything about the Nicaea app and how he was able to get the demons he uses for learning abilities and how he gathers them. Including the videos he receives.

Truth be told, now that Jaune thought about it he had no idea why he decided to keep this information all to himself instead of telling them about it. A whim, maybe? A part of him was insisting to stop any attempt of telling them but another part of him wanted to as well. He was torn as he can't seem to find a good reason why he would distrust them back then, but now that he's spent a lot of time with his uncle and cousin, he knew he can give the trust that he was holding back from giving.

And, upon finishing, they went back to their room where the huntsman was gone, and he explained everything to his uncle as well. Devising a plan with them in stopping the video from happening.

* * *

Qrow gasped for breath as lightning struck him and the maiden behind him. He kneeled in pain and looked up to see who was it that they were against, but their faces remained covered. He thought could fight them off but one of them was using magic. Magic that summoned the elements and bent it against their will

 _I thought only Ozpin and Salem can do magic!?_ He thought to himself.

He looked back. "Go, Run! I'll try to hold them off!" he said before standing up and facing them. He can hear a few chuckles, most likely from the woman in red at the back.

Amber nodded and ran but fell when her legs were covered in ice. He saw the cloaked figure raise a hand up. Qrow knew what this meant. His aura is down, he feels it and so was the woman he tried to protect. He gave a cynical smile as he remembered his nieces, how he wished he spent more time with them last night instead of drinking.

He closed his eyes, ready to feel death's embrace but he heard the flapping of wings and someone shouting.

He opened his eyes to see a duck with an odd helm being ridden by three figures.

His friend, Louis.

A young girl with long brown hair, wearing a mistralian fox mask.

And the one holding the duck's reigns, a young boy with black hair, tied in a ponytail wearing a rabbit's mask who had his hand up, forming a barrier that defended him from the light that could've ended him.

Louis got off and stood protectively in front of him. "Its too early to kick the bucket, old friend."

The girl got off and stood beside Louis as she prepared her sword, upon inspection it was a mechashift weapon, but to what he has yet to know. The girl threw an aura booster at him, and it wasn't the kind that just kickstarts, it's the kind that recovers half at the expense of a few days of rest before fully recovering.

And the boy got off as well, thanking the duck.

The duck glared at him. "For your information, I am not a duck. I am a goose." It said angrily before quacking and disappearing.

Qrow's stupor was broken as he injected the aura booster into his arm and stood up as well.

"What the hell was that!?" He said before standing beside Louis.

"I'll explain later. For now, prioritize the maiden."

Qrow nodded and ran towards Amber, intent on breaking the ice and escaping if things got bad,

The trio positioned themselves.

Louis and the fox girl together against the three.

While the rabbit boy stood against the robed figure.

* * *

It was a risky plan but its working nonetheless. They were outnumbered but his demons can even the playing field. Uncle Louis and Louisa will fight together while he will be fighting with his demons.

He summoned two of his most powerful demons in his arsenal. Through fusion he was able to learn that the demons he can summon aren't literally all demons. That he can summon myriad types. Like mythical beasts from old lores based from another world, or even the gods themselves if he were strong enough. But for now, with all the Grimm he's slain, and all the macca he had he was able to call forth a hero of legend from Celtic Myth, one who slayed a guard dog and took up its role as a guardian, Setanta. And a goddess from the Hindu lore, known as the goddess of knowledge, music and arts, and the one who taught him [Makatraja], Sarasvati.

Setanta smiled at Jaune for being called, he stared at the robed opponent in front of him. "A magic-user eh? Let's see if you can escape my spear." He licked his lips.

Sarasvati smiled gently as she played with her strings. "So, you require of my assistance, yes? Then you shall have it, dear."

Jaune readied himself as he stood between his demons.

"Setanta, you know what to do. Sarasvati support everyone here."

His two demons nodded at his order and the battle commenced.

Louisa and her father fought evenly against their opponents. It was easy to assess that they wouldn't have stood a chance with how skillful they are, especially the woman firing arrows at them, but the two frontline fighters already fought a battle earlier, even if it's a bit, they must be tired from it.

And not only that but as Sarasvati kept strumming her strings all of them felt power and speed welling deep within them that they couldn't feel before.

Jaune kept casting [Mazio]. His magic struck true as electricity came from his hand striking his opponents, though the damage wasn't much they still struck true. As for the robed one, they couldn't focus their cast with how fast Setanta struck. Sarasvati once told him that magic users are powerful but need focus for their magic to work.

And his idea of boosting speed and strength with her skills [Tarukaja] and [Sukukaja]. They were winning, is what ran through Jaune's thoughts. His gloved hand kept casting, while his family kept fighting.

But he never thought that an arrow would strike his shoulder, stopping him from continuing his attacks, it was in this moment that Setanta was distracted out of worry, unsure as to whether to continue his attack or protect his master. The heroic demon threw his spear up and shouted his skill "[Javelin Rain]!" And a rain of spear came from the sky, hitting his family's opponents, but the arrow wielding woman was able to avoid the attack narrowly before hitting Setanta's throat.

"Setanta!" Jaune shouted before the demon disappeared. He cursed as he called for Tico to summon Hamsa and Jack Frost, at least to help him.

The robed figure got his robe struck as they moved, pinning it to the ground and removing his hood. It revealed a boy with white hair, the same age as Jaune, but his green eyes contained the same mark as his left hand had.

He was fighting against an apostle like him.

The boy clicked his tongue as he took the opportunity of Jaune's surprise and casted his spell.

He heard the woman shouted for the two opponents his uncle and cousin fought to return to her.

The sky darkened and three orbs of electricity floating in circles as if forming a crown of light to show its rule above the clouds.

"Everyone!" Sarasvati shouted with fear on her usually calm face. "Get near those two!" She pointed at the injured Qrow and Amber.

Jaune's family got close to them as ordered and Sarasvati floated to them as well. "Cast [Makarakarn] with me!]" She ordered.

Jaune nodded and shouted along with her as light engulfed them.

Briefly, though softly, hearing his fellow apostle shout in the same language as his. [Thunder Reign].

Lightning crashed on their group but Jaune held strongly to his consciousness. Though [Makarakarn] was absolute in negating magic, it is all dependent on his strength. As the caster didn't cast it once but twice. Sarasvati knew this hence asking for his help, her magical strength most probably drained from supporting them.

Jaune felt the strong energy from the sky, he felt it, his arms getting numb throughout his legs. As if a god who held a spear of lightning struck his body.

When the magic stopped, their enemies were nowhere to be found. But the aftermath was there for everyone to see. A huge area around them was scorched as trees were blackened, others still burning even, Jaune fell to his knees gasping for breath, his left hand burning.

He removed his glove as he saw black markings on each of his fingers' second joint burning into his skin, forming like a ring with lines crawling from the said ring and stopping by his wrist.

"Th-that mark." The girl they saved stuttered as she pointed at him.

Qrow looked at Jaune.

Louis and Louisa glared at Amber as she reveals to the huntsman who he is.

"He's my apostle."

* * *

 **Ayyo everyone, as you all know Volume 6 has been dropped along with some lore progression. I may change a few tidbits in the future but I won't be changing the part about apostles and maidens, cuz its already there and I have plans for it already.**

 **Anyway, around this time Jaune has spent two years already in the grimm frontier hence he's become stronger already, enough to summon Setanta and Sarasvati. Again, put in the reviews the demons you want and they may or may not appear dependent on the situation.**

 **If there are any inconsistencies with the plot kindly state them and I'll see what I can do for an edit and all that. But for now, I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter as there are more to come!**

 **Love and peace ya'll! Shaniic signing out.**

 **P.S. anyone hyped for SMT 5? :D**


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